COEUR D’ALENE – Lewis-Clark State College’s Brian Orr has been named the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame’s Women’s College Coach of the Year at the organization’s annual awards banquet held at the Coeur d’Alene Resort on Saturday night.
Orr led the Warrior women to a 30-4 record this past season and a spot into the Round of 16 of the NAIA National Tournament.
Orr announced his retirement following the season after 22 years at the Warrior helm.
This past season, the Warriors went 21-1 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play to tie for the regular-season title. The 30 wins is his third-highest total in his 22 years at the college. LC’s four losses were all to teams ranked among the top 15 in the NAIA.
In his 22 seasons at LC State, Orr had a record of 548 wins and 176 losses for a .754 winning percentage. He is the winningest coach in program history and ended the 2022-23 season ranked 10th in wins among active coaches in the NAIA. He also led the Warriors to their highest finish ever at a national tournament with a runner-up showing in the 2016-17 season.
LC State had other coaches and student-athletes who were finalists for the six college awards.
Both Jennah Carpenter, who won the high jump at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and Callie Stevens, the women’s basketball Player of the Year of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, were finalists for the Female Athlete of the Year, while cross country and track standout Clayton Van Dyke was nominated for the Male Athlete of the Year award.
Warrior Baseball coach Jake Taylor and the LC State Baseball team were nominated for the Male Coach and Male Team of the Year, respectively, after the Warriors finished second in the nation at the Avista NAIA World Series last spring. The LC State Women’s Basketball team was a nominee for the Female Team of the Year.
Athletes that currently freshman at LC State or will join the Warrior family next year nominated for high school accomplishments include Emily Collins (track and field), Cruz Hepburn (baseball) and Grace Beardin (women’s basketball).
Nearly 800 people attended Saturday’s banquet, which honors student-athletes, coaches, and teams from northern Idaho high schools and colleges. They were honored for the athletic season that included the 2022 spring and fall sports and the 2022-23 winter sports seasons.
The nominations, finalists and winners are selected by the North Idaho Hall of Fame committee, composed of members from various communities in northern Idaho.
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